


Under the Mistletoe

by AgentOfShip



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, Mistletoe, Multi, Polyamory, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28273806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOfShip/pseuds/AgentOfShip
Summary: Jemma doesn't believe in fate or destiny or signs from the universe. She believes humans have a tendency to interpret events the way that fit what they want in life. So when she finds out that the only two other people in her building not going home for the holidays are the two men she'd had a massive crush on for months, she sees it as a sign. Which of course only confirms that she just wants it to be a sign. But a sign of what exactly?
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Lance Hunter/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 10
Kudos: 9





	Under the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LibbyWeasley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/gifts).



Jemma didn't believe in fate or destiny or signs from the universe, whatever people called them. She believed humans just had a tendency to interpret events the way that fit what they wanted or feared. So when she found out that, out of all the people in their building, the only two other people not going home for the holidays were the two men she'd had a massive crush on for months but couldn't decide which one she wanted to be with, she saw it as a sign. Which of course only confirmed that she wanted it to be a sign. But a sign of what exactly?

Fitz would tell her that there wasn't such a thing as destiny per say but that the spacetime theory dictated that past, present and future all happened at the same time and that, somehow, she had already taken the decision, she just didn't know it yet. Which was easy to say since he wasn't the one who had to take the decision.

Hunter would probably say "I'm sorry, what?" in reaction to Fitz's theory and then say something about following her heart and her gut. Which wasn't helpful at all. Her brain had been failing her for months, she didn't think any other internal organ would help make the decision.

Jemma pushed the door to the building and quickly shut it behind her before the snow had the time to come in. The short walk to the coffee shop in the freezing cold was worth it to get the best tea in the city. It was just too bad they didn't sell the tea so that she could make it in her own tiny kitchen. She opened the lid and hummed happily as the strong fragrance hit her nostrils. It made her think of home though and triggered a bout of homesickness. She sighed. Well, it was no use dwelling on this and, at least, she would have a nice time with her parents in New York when they come after New Year.

In the meantime, that left her plenty of time to work on her thesis and catch up on Doctor Who. At least with all the extra time to work during the Christmas Holidays, she was now sure to graduate early. Assuming she managed to focus on that and stop thinking about the two distracting men living in her building. In fact, preoccupied as she was by her love life --or absence of it really-- she didn't realize there was someone coming the other way and bumped into Fitz as she turned the corner.

"Ouch!" she cried out as a little bit of hot water splashed her hand.

"Oh no, are you alright?" Fitz let out, his brows drawing together as he took the cup from her with one hand and took her hand with the other to look at it. Once passed the initial surprise and slight pain, it didn't look or feel like the water had actually burned her. But if Fitz wanted to inspect her hand with his warm, delicate engineer fingers, well you could never be too careful, could you?

"I think I'll be fine," she said after a few seconds and he let go of her hand with a shy smile. Lots of people said he was a grump but he was really a sweetheart most of the time. Or at least he was with her. Caring and generous and funny too. "It's my fault, I was lost in thoughts."

"Yeah? What kind of thoughts?" he asked, leaning against the wall with a crooked smile. He'd been awfully flirty lately —a Hunter level of flirting really— which really didn't make her choice any easier.

"Oh you know, my dissertation, feeling homesick." _Trying to choose between you and your friend and failing miserably._

She thought he looked a little disappointed for a second before he tilted his head to the side in sympathy. "Ah yes, it's going to be weird not seeing mum for Christmas this year."

"I'll miss my mum's roast."

"And eating too much M&S sweets and—"

"—watching silly Christmas specials all week while eating leftover Christmas food!"

Fitz laughed as he raised his eyebrows.

"Your leftovers last you a whole week?"

"Don't underestimate the insane quantity of food my family makes for Christmas."

"Don't underestimate my appetite."

"I wouldn't dare," Jemma said with a small laugh. She'd shared enough lunches and dinners with him to know he had indeed an impressive appetite. They might have both turned twenty-one the previous year and be now considered proper adults even here in the US, but Fitz obviously still had his teenage boy metabolism.

"So what are you going to do instead?"

"Work on my dissertation then fail to make a proper Christmas Eve dinner and watch Christmas specials online if the WIFI doesn't betray us once more."

Fitz took a step closer. "What? Jemma Simmons failing at something?" He shook his head. "I don't believe it."

"Well trust me, you should! I know cooking is supposed to be chemistry and logically, I should be good at it but I just..." She shrugged. "I bake decent cookies but that's about it. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same. Except I plan on the dinner being a success," he said with a teasing grin and she glared at him before shaking her head. They had only ever shared a few minor classes but their reputation of young geniuses preceding them, there'd always been a sort of friendly competition between them. And as they'd become very close friends, the competition had expanded to the silliest things, including cooking now apparently.

Then his smile turned a little more hesitant and he cleared his throat. "Do you...um...do you maybe want to share?"

"Oh. That's lovely but I don't want to be a bother, I—"

"Don't be silly, I'm the one inviting you. And you…um you could never be a bother. And it could be...nice, yeah?" Jemma felt something flutter in her chest. "I can find decorations and pretty lights and things like that, make my tiny studio apartment look a little more Christmasy."

That sounded like a date. Brilliant. She'd been turning this around in her head for months and she hadn't even considered the obvious solution —which was truly ridiculous for a biochemist such as herself— the practical approach. Put herself in a romantic situation to finally make sure her feelings were what she thought they were and that they were reciprocated. And the fact that Fitz, who was usually so much shier and lacked confidence in himself despite being the sweetest man she knew, was the one to make the first step was maybe the sign she'd been waiting to see.

"That's a lovely idea, Fitz. I'd love to."

"Yeah?" She nodded. "Alright then I'll--I'll get started on that."

"Fitz, Christmas Eve is in four days and there's only two of us." 

He rolled his eyes. "I mean finding recipes, going shopping and..." He trailed off as he looked up above her.

"What is... oh."

Mistletoe. It used to be all over the place past Thanksgiving in the freshman dorm but they were all adults here, adults who no longer needed the flimsy excuse of mistletoe to kiss the people they wanted to kiss. Or at least, she'd thought so. Studying his face for a moment, Jemma finally decided to take a step closer. It was only fair she took the second step. And it wasn't like she hadn't spent long hours looking at his lovely lips and wondered what they would feel like against hers.

"Ah, we don't have to..." He chuckled nervously as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. "It's silly, really and--"

"It's tradition Fitz."

"Yeah...I guess it is." He straightened up, his fingers fidgeting as if he didn't know what to do with his hands. _She_ had a few ideas. 

"It's important to respect tradition when we're away from home."

"But that doesn't really make sense," he said and she would have thought he was being oblivious if it wasn't for the grin at the corner of his lips. "It's not like it's a specifically British tradition. In fact it's more of a pagan tradition that originated—"

"Fitz," she cut him off with her hand on his chest. "Don't anger the gods and kiss me."

Fitz bit his lip for a second before leaning forward. She'd imagined he would just press a quick peck on her lips like most people did in these situations. Instead he cupped her cheek and pressed his lips firmly against hers. The contact sent an unexpected zing of lust through her whole body and she let out an involuntary whimper. That made Fitz even bolder and he wrapped his other arm around her waist as he captured her lower lip between his. He tasted sweet as she'd always imagined he would but he kissed with a confidence that she hadn't expected, that was turning her knees to jelly very quickly. Her hand on his chest moved up to hold onto his shoulder as she tried not to drop her cup and it only made her notice how firm and solid his shoulders actually were. Fitz traced the seam of her lips with his tongue and Jemma gladly allowed him entrance but after only a few seconds of this, Fitz pulled back, leaving her completely off balance. 

"Sorry," he said, softly stroking her cheek with his thumb before letting go and stepping back. "I-I lost control there."

"No that was…"

"So I'll see you on Christmas Eve, yeah?" 

Completely confused and her heart still beating wildly in her chest, Jemma could only nod. Fitz gave her a shy smile and a quick peck on the cheek and he was gone before Jemma could stop him or say anything. Sighing, she let her back fall against the wall as she brought her hand to her lips. They were still tingling from his kiss and so desperately longing for more. 

That night as she lay in her bed still thinking about it, Jemma took a decision. It was Fitz. Fitz was wonderful and funny and sweet and so incredibly smart. They shared a love of science and even though she'd always been attracted to him, knowing how his kisses and his hands on her felt like made him completely irresistible now. She liked Hunter a lot and she hoped he wouldn't be mad at her and they could remain friends but now that she had a taste of what it could be like to be with Fitz, she didn't think she could ever go back. They would have their dinner together and hopefully, this time she'd be able to say enough words to tell him how she felt about him and that he would never need the excuse of mistletoe to kiss her like that again.

She stood by her decision for just a little bit more than a day.

* * *

Jemma didn't usually like to roam the corridors in her pyjamas but the plumbing was being capricious again and there was no way she was getting under the freezing water without at least trying to ask the building's janitor to do something about it. Plus the two other residents of this building who hadn't gone home wouldn't probably be up for at least an hour anyway. 

She yawned as she made her way quietly towards the janitor's office with her keys in one hand and her phone in the other. Apparently some of her undergrad students were more like her than she knew, already emailing her questions about their next classes. And with her eyes down looking at her phone, she didn't see or hear the other person coming the other way until she crashed into them. 

"Ow! Careful love!" Hunter cried out as he grabbed her shoulders to stop her from tipping backward. "Alright there?" he asked, looking straight into her eyes and making her blush slightly. He had really nice firm hands. Attached to some equally lovely, sweaty, bare arms. 

Jemma shook her and forced herself to look back into his eyes. "Yeah, yeah…Sorry, I wasn't looking."

"Those youngsters and their smartphones," he said as he crossed his arms over his chest, mock-seriously.

"Hunter, you're just one year older than I am." He grinned as he leaned against the wall. "Anyway, what are you doing up so early?" 

"I was working out." Ah, that explained the tank top then, along with the light sheen of sweat that covered his arms despite the cold. "And actually I was coming to see you."

"Oh? Did you need help with something?" Wiping that bead of sweat falling down your neck maybe? Jemma shook her head. She'd always known Hunter was attractive. A revealing tank top shouldn't change anything. She had chosen Fitz. Wonderful, attractive, smart Fitz who had kissed her wonderfully and had awkwardly invited her on a date. The simple thought brought a smile to her face.

"No," he said, giving her a funny look as if he could read her thoughts. Hopefully, he'd blame her weirdness on the early hour of the day. "I was going to make pancakes and I thought you might like to join me."

"Oh Hunter that's lovely."

"I…um…" He looked a little hesitant as he stepped forward. Almost shy, which really wasn't in character for him. "I know you're always up early and I wanted to talk to you about that book you forgot by the mailboxes the other day." 

Jemma frowned. "What book?" She didn't think Hunter was very much interested in her anatomy or toxicology textbooks, being a history major and all. In fact, both him and Fitz acted very childish, fake gagging and covering their ears whenever she mentioned one of her more gruesome experiments. 

"Pride and Prejudice." Jemma raised an amused eyebrow.

"Did you read it?" 

"Yeah, I meant to bring it back to you the next then I started reading it, see what all the fuss was about."

"And?"

He shrugged.

"It's really good. It's funny and a good analysis of the society she lived in. But let's talk about it over pancakes, yeah?" Jemma bit her lip. It was just pancakes and she was in her pyjamas. It couldn't be considered a date, right? And it had been too long since she'd had an opportunity to talk about one of her favorite books with someone who'd just read it. Hunter liked to play tough but he was in fact a very sensitive, perceptive person. She bet he would have made a great English literature professor if he hadn't chosen history. "I would go and ask Fitz too but that grump's just going to shout at me, tell me to stop poking his back and let him sleep."

Jemma laughed. That was very specific and it did sound like Fitz. And it reminded her of how good friends these two really were, shouting at soccer games and screaming insults at each other like cliché British lads one day and walking with one arm around each other's shoulders the next, looking awfully sweet. She hoped she wasn't going to ruin everything between them. They had both been flirting with her for months and must have noticed she was flirting back and didn't seem to mind. But it was one thing to just flirt, it was another for one of them to make an actual move and for her to choose. Well, it was no use thinking about that until Fitz and she had their date and a proper conversation about their feelings. 

"Alright then. I was going to see the janitor about the shower but he won't be there until eight anyway. And I can always spare a little time for pancakes and Jane Austen."

He chuckled. "And your good friend Hunter?"

"And my good friend Hunter." He remained there with a small grin and Jemma raised her eyebrows. "Well, let's go then. Speaking about pancakes made me hungry."

Hunter's grin widened as he gestured towards the ceiling. Jemma didn't even have to look up to know what he was looking at. She'd been on the exact same spot when she'd run into Fitz. 

"It's tradition Simmons and what are we without our traditions?"

"Reasonable people who only do things based on their own wants and needs instead of giving meaning to what I'm pretty sure is a plastic copy of a parasitic plant tapped to the ceiling?" 

"That's a very articulate sentence for someone who's just woken up," he said, amusement laced with admiration in his voice. He took another step forward. "Then what do _you_ want right now?" 

Jemma's eyes dropped down to his lips for a second and she knew he'd seen it from the way they instantly pulled up. Damn it. One chaste kiss under the mistletoe couldn't be held against her, could it? And he was annoyingly attractive when he used her own arguments against her.

Pushing up on her tiptoes, she put a hand on his shoulder and pressed her lips to his lightly for just a second before pulling back. But her heels hadn't even touched the ground before he captured her lips again and wrapped an arm around her waist. She should have known a simple peck on the lips wasn't an option for the boy she'd had such a crush on for months. It hadn't been possible with Fitz and it wasn't going to be with Hunter of course, not with the way his lips moved against hers so hungrily, making all her nerve endings light on fire. She let out a small moan in the back of her throat and Hunter groaned as he pressed his tongue against her lips, demanding entrance. She gave him gladly and squeaked as he turned them around and gently pressed against the wall as he deepened the kiss. 

Where Fitz had been all subtlety and just enough passion to drive her mad with lust by only hinting at what _more_ could be with him, Hunter was giving her all he had, hunger, passion and a sort of desperation as if he thought it was the only kiss they'd ever share. 

When he finally pulled back, Jemma kept her back to the wall for a moment, afraid her knees might pull under her if she moved too quickly. Which made Hunter smile a little smugly, although there was also something terribly soft in his eyes.

"Happy Christmas, Simmons."

"I don't think that's how you're supposed to kiss under the mistletoe."

He laughed as he pulled on her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he started towards the stairs. "You just haven't done it right until now, love."

Oh she'd been doing it very right these past few days and that was just the problem.

When Jemma made it back to her room after spending two hours talking about Regency romance and Jane Austen's unique and delightful tone with Hunter, she just wanted to scream into a pillow and crawl back into bed as she waited for things to resolve themselves. 

She was back to square one. 

She'd been right all along, _signs_ were a rubbish notion. What were signs good for when there were just as many pointing towards Fitz and towards Hunter? That wasn't helpful at all. She liked —and maybe more— two wonderful men who both liked her back just as much. What was she supposed to do?

* * *

On Christmas Eve day, Jemma spent hours thinking about Fitz and Hunter and what to do about them. After an hour at the gym, a long phone call with her parents, a thorough cleaning of her room and long hours staring at her screen and barely writing a few words, she gave up and decided to get ready for the evening. Fitz had already spent a lot of time cooking for them —she'd smelt delicious things when she'd opened her window earlier— and it would be a lovely evening regardless of her indecision. 

Getting ready took longer than she'd expected as she debated between a dress or something more casual or something in between —she didn't want to look overdressed and make Fitz uncomfortable. In the end, she went for something in between, her favorite skinny jean with a nice, shiny top and just a little bit more makeup than usual. When it was almost seven, she grabbed the bottle of white wine taking half the space in her tiny fridge and made her way to Fitz's apartment one floor up. 

She took a deep breath, smiled and knocked on the door.

"Coming," Fitz cried out and a few seconds later she heard footsteps coming her way. But when the door opened, it wasn't Fitz she found behind but Hunter.

Jemma's eyebrows raised up to her hairline as an alarm sounded in her head and thoughts rushed through her brain. Had she misunderstood him completely? Did Fitz never mean this to be a date but a completely friendly evening after all? Or did he change his mind and invite Hunter to make sure nothing happened between them?

"Hi Jemma. Fitz and I talked and we thought it was time all three of us had a conversation together." 

"What? I-I…" It was the third day in very little time that she was left speechless by men and she didn't like that one bit.

"Please come in," he said as he stepped back to let her in. His tone was gentle as always but she couldn't help thinking she was walking into a trap. Of course, it didn't help that she felt guilty for sharing a very not innocent kiss with both these men in the past few days.

Hunter took the bottle from her to put it in the fridge as she walked towards Fitz's small living room and dining area. He really had done things right. The place had been tidied up better than she'd ever seen it with only a few stack of drawings on his desk, and it looked lovely too. He'd found a tiny Christmas tree that he'd decorated with silver and blue garlands and bobbles and he'd installed fairy lights around the room making it look a lot more cosy than it usually did. But she didn't have much time to focus on the decorations as Fitz and Hunter came to stand before her. Fitz gave her an adorable shy smile she really didn't know what to make of and maybe it was seeing them both side by side, both completely irresistible in their own way, but suddenly the words spilled out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry I kissed you both but I swear it wasn't planned and it's making me very confused! I've always known what to do with my life. I won't graduate until a few months and I already have a job waiting for me. I've even already picked the neighborhood I want to live in and found several apartments that would fit my criteria. But when it comes to you, I'm at a complete loss. I like you both so much and I want to be with you both so much, it's an impossible choice to make!"

She was breathless when she finished talking. Fitz and Hunter shared a smile before looking back at her.

"What if you didn't have to choose?"

Jemma frowned. What did they mean by that? Had they taken the decision for her? Did they have a talk or play roshambo or bet her heart during the last football game they watched together? In a way, it would make things easier if they had. But it didn't feel right at all. Relationships didn't work like that. These decisions had to be taken together. It wasn't like a sports competition where one team forfeiting meant the other team automatically won. Having Fitz wouldn't make the heartbreak of losing Hunter any easier. And vice-versa. Maybe the right choice was choosing to remain friends with both after all.

"What do you mean? You can't choose for me and I can't lose any of you, it doesn't—"

"No we mean that you could have us both."

"What?"

"Why don't we all sit down?" Hunter offered and Jemma just nodded as she sat down on the couch, Hunter sitting next to her and Fitz sitting on the edge of the coffee table. 

"I couldn't," Jemma said, "I'd feel like perpetually cheating on one of you!"

"It wouldn't be cheating if we were all together," Hunter said and chuckling at her very confused expression, reached out to take Fitz's hand in his. 

"Oh... you mean..."

"Fitz and I had a talk last night, the kind you had with us under the mistletoe." 

Jemma blushed. She'd always known Hunter was bisexual but Fitz was more private and she'd never wanted to pry. But since he had only ever seemed interested in her, the possibility had never occurred to her. But now... She supposed what she'd seen as them being adorable lads together could be seen as just a different sort of flirting. And the thought of them being together romantically and kissing, she thought it would have made her jealous but it didn't. It made her curious and something else she wasn't quite sure of yet. So the "signs'' had been right all along, she'd just never thought what they were pointing to was a possibility.

"How did I not see it?"

"Because you're not as smart as you think you are." 

"Hey!" Jemma cried out and the boys burst out laughing. 

"When it comes to relationships at least," Fitz specified as he tentatively reached for her hand. "After our um… _conversation_ , we had a proper conversation. Realized we like each other as much as we like you and we couldn't see a way out of this without hurting someone we care about deeply. Until we came upon a rather obvious solution."

Hunter reached for her other hand and she looked down at her lap and then between Hunter and Fitz. It felt weird and new and a little scary and it made her dizzy with all the questions and the possibilities and imagining all that could go wrong. 

But she also had images floating around her head. Of going on dates and lazy mornings in bed and pizza and Doctor Who nights with her head on Fitz's shoulder and her legs on Hunter's lap and all their hands entwined to the point she wouldn't know which one belonged to who. And as strange as those images were, they felt right and had a warm feeling spreading through her chest.

"But how…how do we even go about this?" she asked when she finally looked back into their eyes. 

Fitz smiled, letting out what she thought was a sigh of relief. 

"I don't know, this is quite new for me too," Fitz said. "When I asked you out on a date three days ago, I had no idea this was a possibility. But I wouldn't change a thing," he added with a soft, shy smile.

"To be perfectly honest, neither of us has any experience of doing something like this," Hunter continued. "But between two geniuses and a relatively intelligent man, we can work it out, can't we?" 

Jemma laughed, feeling better and more at peace than she had in days. If she believed in signs, she'd say it was a very good one.

"Well, the food won't be ready for another half hour and I have days worth of silly Christmas movies and special episodes on my hard drive," Fitz said as he stood up. "So how about we start by opening that bottle of wine and try to fit in my tiny couch as we watch the first one?"

"Take it slow. One step at a time," Jemma said, her smile widening. It wasn't so scary that way.

"Yeah, no pressure."

"See? Brilliant!" Hunter said, winking at them both and making Fitz's cheeks turn a cute shade of pink just as she felt her own cheeks heat up. 

Soon, the first movie was playing on TV and the three of them were huddled together under Fitz's giant blanket with her head on his shoulder and her feet tucked under Hunter's thighs as he played with one of her hands. With the soft glow of the fairy lights bathing the room in a soft, romantic atmosphere and the scent of her two favorite people surrounding her, the switch from friends to something more already felt simpler than it had a moment ago. 

She didn't know where this would go and where they would be in six months, a year or more. She was jumping into the unknown and, for once, she was perfectly fine with that.


End file.
